The present invention pertains to a device for perforating packaged cigarettes, or the like. In particular, the present invention pertains to a device for perforating packaged cigarettes which is simple to use, safe and efficient.
For many years, people have designed methods and devices to aid in breaking the physical addiction to tobacco smoking. For example, one method, commonly known as "going cold turkey", requires simply that the smoker suddenly stop smoking and refrain from smoking. However, this method is often a failure and after a short period of time the smoker usually will renew his habit, sometimes with more vigor. This is because cigarette smoking becomes a physical addiction in which the body craves the nicotine in the cigarette smoke. The smoker's body has become conditioned to accept the nicotine from the tobacco smoke as a necessary chemical and thus withdrawal from the smoking habit becomes physically very difficult.
Other methods and devices which are known require that the smoker slowly wean his body from the perceived nicotine requirement. With these methods and devices, the smoker continues the smoking habit during the period of weaning, however, the intake of nicotine from the tobacco smoke is systematically decreased. Thus, the smoker's body slowly becomes accustomed to less and less of the nicotine intake until the smoker can more easily stop smoking altogether.
A device is known for perforating packaged cigarettes. The cigarettes are perforated with a small pin-hole located near the junction between the filter and tobacco portions of the cigarette. The small pin-hole allows cool air to be drawn in while the smoker is drawing the hot tobacco smoke in through the cigarette. The mixture of hot and cool air creates condensation that traps tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide and other poisons. Thus, by perforating the cigarette in the manner described, the user is exposed to less nicotine per cigarette. To aid the smoker in his efforts to quit smoking, he may systematically increase the number of perforations in the cigarettes so that over time he is inhaling less and less nicotine per cigarette and may thus slowly wean his body from the perceived nicotine requirement.
Referring to FIGS. 5a through 5h, a prior art device 100 for perforating packaged cigarettes is shown. In this device, a receiving area 102 is provided in a first housing member 104. As shown in FIG. 5d, the receiving area 102 is configured to receive a package of U.S. domestically packaged cigarettes 106 (the cigarette package is omitted for clarity). The cigarette package is placed at the receiving area 102 so that the lip end of the package contacts with a safety plate 108 (shown in FIG. 5c) disposed in the opening of the receiving area 102. The safety plate 108 is omitted in FIG. 5(a). The cigarette package is inserted into the receiving area 102 so that the safety plate 108 is pushed rearwardly against a spring bias provided by springs 110 (shown in FIGS. 5f and 5h). The cigarette package is pushed against the safety plate 108 into the receiving area 102 until the safety plate 108 no longer can be depressed. At this position, the cigarettes 106 are located so that perforations can be formed therein by piercing means. The piercing means includes a plurality of needles 112 supported by a support 114 which is fixed to a second housing member 116. The second housing member 116 is slidable over the first housing member 104 and guided by the action of a projection 120 and slot 122 combination (shown in FIG. 5b). A pair of springs 118 is interposed between the first and second housing members 104,116 to bias them apart to expose the receiving area 102.
The piercing needles 112 are guided by guide holes 124 so that in operation, the user manually slides the second housing member 116 relative to the first housing member 104 so that the piercing needles 112 may pass through the guide holes 124 and perforate the cigarettes 106 contained in the receiving area 102. For safety, when the cigarette package is not contained in the receiving area 102, the safety plate 108 is disposed at a position which blocks the passage of the piercing needles 112 through the guide holes 124 even if one attempts to slide the second housing member 116 relative to the first housing member 104. Thus, by blocking the unwanted intrusion of the piercing needles 112 into the receiving area 102 at a time when there are no cigarettes disposed in the receiving area 102, the safety of the device is enhanced.
However, as shown in FIG. 5a, the springs 110 biasing the safety plate 108 are fixed to the base of the receiving area 102 by spring receptacles 126, which are located at positions which result in an unsteady movement of the safety plate 108 when it is depressed against the spring bias. In other words, the springs 110 are positioned offset from the horizontal center axis of the safety plate 108 and thus there is a tendency for the safety plate 108 to pivot when depressed, and because of the close fitting tolerances necessary between the safety plate 108 and the edges of the receiving area 102, binding occurs and the safety plate 108 often becomes stuck in the depressed condition. In the depressed condition, the safety plate 108 does not provide any means for blocking the passage of the piercing needles 112 through the guide holes 124 and thus the safety factor provided by the safety plate 108 is compromised. To further add to the instability of the movement of the safety plate 108, the diameter of the springs 110 used in this prior art device is sufficiently small that the safety plate 108 tends to wobble during depression, which hinders the use of the device, and which also results in the binding of the safety plate 108 against the edges of the receiving area 102, further resulting in loss of the safety feature.
In order to perforate the cigarettes 106 in a manner which allows multiple perforations to be applied to each cigarette 106, a means is provided for altering the position of the cigarettes 106 in the receiving area 102 relative to the piercing needles 112. Thus, the user will insert the cigarette package into the receiving area 102 and make a first perforation in the cigarettes and then remove the cigarette package. Next, the user will alter the position relative to the receiving area 102 that the safety plate 108 may be depressed, and then reinsert the cigarette package so that the lip ends of the cigarettes are at a different position relative to the piercing needles 112, and apply a second perforation in the cigarettes which is at a different position relative to the first perforation. The means provided in the prior art device includes a switch protrusion 128 disposed in and guided by an L-shaped switch slot 130 (shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b). In operation, the user places the switch protrusion 128 at a first position by moving the switch pad 132 (shown in FIG. 5b) to a first switch position. This first switch position corresponds with the position of the switch protrusion 128 shown in FIG. 5h in which the switch protrusion contacts the surface of a cutout 134 provided in one of the side walls of the safety plate 108 to thereby increase the maximum depth to which the safety plate 108 may be depressed by a thickness T as compared to the other switch position. To switch to the second switch position, the user moves the switch pad 132 laterally and downwardly through the L-shaped switch slot 130 so that the switch protrusion 128 is positioned at the location shown in FIG. 5g. At this second position, the switch protrusion 128 does not contact the cutout 134 and therefore the safety plate 108 may be depressed by an additional distance relative to the first switch position.
By switching the position of the switch protrusion 128, the location at which the perforation is applied to the cigarette 106 may therefore be altered so that multiple perforations may be applied to the cigarettes 106 to increase the reduction in the intake of nicotine and other harmful toxins in the tobbaco smoke and wean the smoker from nicotine dependency.
This prior art device has many drawbacks. In particular, the safety plate 108 is supported by the springs 110 in such a way that binding occurs during the depression of the safety plate 108 into the receiving area 102. Because the safety plate 108 has a tendency to wobble in this configuration, binding often occurs resulting in difficult operation of the device. When binding occurs at a position where the safety plate 108 no longer blocks the intrusion of the piercing needles 112 into the receiving area 102, the safety of the device is severely diminished.
Furthermore, the L-shaped switch slot 130 required by the prior art construction makes the device difficult to use and also does not provide any means for locking the switch protrusion 128 in either the first or second positions. This is disadvantageous because after repeated uses, the switch becomes loose and the switch protrusion 128 often will fall back into the undesired position thereby preventing multiple perforations of the cigarettes 106.
In addition, this prior art device provides absolutely no means by which a cigarette package which is larger than the standard U.S. cigarette package may be accommodated in the receiving area while still providing a means for adequately accommodating the standard U.S. package.